Sponsors (22)
The bill would produce faster, federally coordinated information and stronger permitting authority to help detect and reduce water contamination from oil and gas activity, but it raises costs, regulatory uncertainty for operators, and risks of legal challenges that could delay implementation and impose expenses on taxpayers and governments.
Residents near oil and gas operations (especially in rural communities) and local governments would get federally collected data that could identify contamination risks within about a year, enabling earlier warnings and targeted responses.
State and local officials would gain new groundwater and aquifer susceptibility information they can use to prioritize monitoring, mitigation, and infrastructure protections.
Narrowing certain Clean Water Act exclusions could strengthen EPA permitting and oversight of stormwater and related discharges from oil and gas sites, potentially improving water quality protections for communities.
Oil and gas operators would face increased regulatory uncertainty and could incur new permitting requirements or compliance costs if statutory exclusions are removed or narrowed.
Removing statutory exclusions could prompt legal challenges, producing delays and additional administrative or litigation costs for federal and local agencies and operators.
Conducting the required Interior Department study and preparing reports will incur federal costs borne by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Narrows Clean Water Act exclusions for certain oil and gas discharges and requires Interior to study stormwater contamination from oil and gas operations and report to Congress within 1 year.
Introduced November 18, 2025 by Jared Huffman · Last progress November 18, 2025
Removes specific Clean Water Act exclusions that had limited regulation of certain discharges related to oil and gas operations and directs the Department of the Interior to study where stormwater runoff from oil and gas work may have contaminated surface or groundwater. The Interior Department must report findings to Congress within one year of enactment.